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Episode 15

In this episode, get caught up with what I’ve been doing for the past two weeks, including my knitting projects and other things that have kept me busy. Today’s lesson is about responses to stress, which seemed an appropriate topic during the stressful holiday season.

Welcome to new and returning listeners! And thank you to everyone who has contacted me these past couple of weeks. If you haven’t already done so, you should join our erudite Ravelry group made up of fabulous people who are impeccable historians. They know that, although the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 started in the barn of Patrick and Catherine O’Leary, it was not caused by their cow kicking over a lantern. 😉

I welcome your feedback — you can post comments here on the blog or in our Ravelry group. You can also send me email on Ravelry or regular email. It would be great if you sent me a card or letter via snail mail. All of my contact information can be found on this site — click on the “About” tab at the top of the page.

Listen to the Show:

SHOW NOTES

Awards and Scholarships

We are currently celebrating the Twelve Days of “Kris-mas” with daily prizes of yarn and other little surprises. Each day’s winner is randomly selected from the Ewe University group on Ravelry. We have two more days of giveaways — today and tomorrow. So if you haven’t joined our Ravelry group yet, be sure to do that right away so you get included in the prize drawings! Congratulations to all of our winners thus far!

Reminders and Announcements

The thread for the December graduating class is open on our Ravelry group. You can enter as many finished objects as you complete this month — the more you post, the more chances you have of winning. At the end of the month I will be drawing two random posts to be our December valedictorians! One person will get a project bag of their choice from Halcyarn Knitting Accessories, and the other person will get a skein of yarn of their choice from Evermore Studios. You must be a member of our Ravelry group to participate.

The Timber Ridge Winter Retreat is a wonderful one-day knitting retreat that will be on Saturday, January 4, 2014. We will be there starting at 9:00am and will stay until probably around 5:00pm or whenever people start to dissipate. This is a low-key retreat where you can simply come and hang out and knit with a great group of people. There are no classes or vendors, only the nicest people and the birds and deer we watch from the window. Lunch is pot-luck. If you’re in the area and want to come, let me know and I will give you directions for getting there.

Around Campus

In this episode I talk about the snow and what I’ve been doing for the past couple of weeks which has kept me away from the recording studio. I also update you on my snail mail news and the bittersweet closing of a local yarn shop. As the end of 2013 approaches, I am thinking of my goals for this year, new goals for next year, and my personal theme for 2014. As I discuss in the show, for my personal theme I focus on one of my Signature Strengths. You can find out about your Signature Strengths by taking an online test (click on the “Questionnaires” link at the top of the page, and you’ll need to register), which takes a little while but it’s free and interesting.

For our mini-segment highlighting a local point of interest, I talk about one famous native son of Monmouth, Illinois who was born in this house:

You’ll have to listen in to see who it is!

The Academic Status of My Knitting Projects

Not much knitting progress this week.

JUNIOR: Neon Frog Socks

These are the socks I’m knitting for the Dramatic Knits podcast Ribbit KAL (you knit any pair of ribbed socks by the end of the year). I’m using fingering weight yarn from Leading Men Fiber Arts in the Show Stopper base, which is 75% superwash merino and 25% nylon. The colorway is called Lightning Bug. I’m doing the Basic Ribbed Socks by Kate Atherley and using U.S. size 1 needles.

SOPHOMORE: Raven Pullover Sweater

I’m considering giving this to my husband as a tube top! Just kidding. 🙂 This is the Raven Pullover pattern from the Knits of a Feather book by Celeste Young. I’m using Cascade Greenland yarn, which is 100% superwash merino in black. The needles are a 32-inch U.S. size 8 circular.

At the Library

Even though I didn’t accomplish a lot of knitting since the last episode, I did finish two books! The first one is A Redbird Christmas by Fannie Flagg. It was excellent; I loved it. I listened to the whole thing in one or two days. It is one of those books you don’t want to end because you enjoy the characters so much. It was heartwarming, wholesome, funny, and touching. It made me laugh out loud and get tears in my eyes. I highly recommend it.

The second book is The Kalahari Typing School for Men by Alexander McCall Smith. It is one of the books in the Number One Ladies Detective Agency series, which I like a lot. The book is good, and the audiobook reader is excellent. I give this book a thumbs up, too.

In the Classroom

Today’s lesson is about responses to stress. I discuss the research on the prevalence of chronic stress in Americans as well as what types of life events are considered stressful. Listen in to find out answers to questions like:

How do people cope with stress?

Is the fight or flight response universal?

Why are stress responses so important?

I’m sending out glad tidings to all of you for a Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy Winter Solstice, Happy Festivus, Happy Boxing Day — whatever you’re celebrating, I hope you have a super fabulous holiday!